


Angelus v. Dracula

by elsmith



Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Episode: s05e01 Buffy vs Dracula, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-25 18:28:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20030347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elsmith/pseuds/elsmith
Summary: There's more to the story of Dracula, especially when it comes to his history with Spike and Angel...





	1. Look Who's In Town

Note: I started this story *years* ago and have finally decided to post some of it to see if anyone is interested. It's been so long, I honestly don't remember whether the Spike v. Dracula comic had come out or not. Either way, nothing from the comics is cannon in this story. 

Spike was fuming. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was more than a little uneasy about Dracula being in town. What he hadn’t mentioned to Riley was that their ‘confrontation’ had been quite a deal more serious than he had let on. In fact, what he wouldn’t ever mention was that Angelus had been there too. Worried about Buffy, Spike decided to tell her of his worry about Dracula.

Walking through the lonely graveyard, Spike was thinking about his own grave. Actually, he wasn’t sure he even had one. After all, he had risen within twelve hours; he had never been actually buried. And his mother, the only person in the world that would have bothered burying him, was dead within twenty-four hours of Spike’s own death. Not wanting to think of those bad memories, Spike focused on what he would say to Buffy.

_I just hope ‘ol Drac hasn’t gotten to her yet,_ he thought grimly.

Unfortunately for Spike, Dracula had already left town when he reached Giles’ flat. Buffy answered the door. Seeing that it was Spike, she automatically went into sarcastic-Buffy mode. “Spike,” she said. “What do you want?”

Spike shrugged and pushed past her into the flat. “Just wanted to give you the skinny on Dracula,” he said.  
Buffy sighed angrily. “Spike, he’s already gone.”

Spike’s brow creased. “Oh,” he said. “Never mind, then.”

After Spike stormed out, Buffy was almost worried. He had seemed genuinely interested in helping. “Giles,” she said, entering the kitchen where Giles was making tea. “Yes?” he said, looking up from his newspaper.

“That was Spike at the door.”

Giles frowned. “What did he want?” Spike never stopped by without wanting something, whether it was money or blood or just to be annoying.

Buffy shrugged. “He wanted to help with Dracula,” she said.

“I highly doubt he could be of any help,” Giles said, continuing reading his newspaper. Then he slammed the newspaper down on the countertop and rushed over to a small corner of his apartment to his books. “Giles,” Buffy exclaimed. “What’s wrong?”

“Yes, yes…I think it’s here…” he mumbled distractedly.

Buffy was used to this kind of behavior from Giles, she just hadn’t witnessed it in a while. He was in research mode. “What are you looking for?” she asked.

“Something about Dracula…”

“Hello, he’s gone. What does it matter?” Buffy asked, attending to Giles’s whistling tea.

“What? Oh, nothing to worry about Buffy,” Giles said, feeling slightly guilty that he was making it seem like it wasn’t a big deal when it really was.

**Crypt**

Spike was angry. He had gone to help Buffy and what did he get? He got a door slammed in his face. He hadn’t even wanted money this time! _Where does she get off treatin’ me like this?_ he thought angrily.

He slammed the large marble door to his crypt open and immediately knew that someone else was in it. Spike whirled around, but all he saw was a wispy blue smoke. His eyes narrowed. “Dracula…”

The smoke coalesced into the tall, dark, and almost handsome Dracula. “Well, aren’t you undead proof of bad clichés,” Spike said sarcastically.

“Spike,” he said evenly. “I have been waiting for you.”

Spike couldn’t stop the growl that escaped his throat. “What are you doing here?” he demanded. Even though he was angry, he was also scared.

Dracula stepped forward slowly. “I wanted to warn you to stay away from the Slayer,” he said. Despite his anger, Spike raised an eyebrow. “You came to warn me, did you? Seems to me that the Slayer kicked your sorry-”

Dracula interrupted him by simply turning back into his smoke-state. His last words lingered in the air. “You have been warned.”

Spike rolled his eyes. “He always was one for show,” he muttered, heading to the area of his crypt where he kept his booze. Spike opened the mini-fridge only to find it completely barren- even the blood Spike had stolen earlier was gone.

“Dracula!” Spike roared, slamming the door closed.

Spike spent the next twenty-four hours moping. The one time he had tried to help Buffy on purpose, and she had slammed the door in his face. _Well, she didn’t literally slam it…_

He really was concerned. He had made Dracula out to be some stupid ponce that was all show to Riley, but in truth it took both Spike _and _Angelus to subdue him.

After a few hours of brooding (which Spike would never admit to), he finally fell asleep during a late showing of “Passions”.

Spike was in the middle of a dream about the Slayer when his sorry excuse for a phone rang. “What?” he growled into the receiver.

“Spike.”

It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. And only one person said Spike’s name like that.

“Angel?” Spike said, even more pissed off (if that was possible). “What the bloody hell do you want?”

Spike could almost hear Angel rolling his eyes on the other end of the line. “I got a little visit from an old friend of ours,” Angel said.

_So tall, dark and gruesome visited Captain Forehead in L.A., did he?_

“Really?” Spike said with mock surprise. “And what friend might that be?”

Spike could hear Angel’s teeth grinding over the phone, and it brought pleasure to him to know that he caused Angel such stress. “Don’t play dumb, Spike,” Angel said. “God knows you’re already dumb enough.”

Spike sighed. He knew when he’d lost the battle, especially against Angel.

“So what did ‘ol Drac want with you?” he asked. Spike could imagine the deep crease in Angel’s great big forehead as he brooded.

“He told me to stay away from Buffy,” Angel said after a few seconds of silence.

“He did? That stupid ponce. He said the same thing to me.”

“What do you think he wants?” Angel asked.

Spike shrugged, even though he knew Angel couldn’t see him. “Bugger if I know. Probably just wanted to piss us off.”

Angel growled. “He better have left town as soon as he came.”

Spike opened his mouth to reply when his crypt door burst open. “Bloody hell!” he muttered. “Listen, Peaches, I have to go.” Spike set the receiver down on the table.

“Who’s there?” he called. Spike grabbed a mace that he had nicked from Buffy and headed to the main room. He could smell someone near the door. With yell, Spike jumped around the corner, wielding his weapon.

“Good Lord, Spike!” Giles exclaimed, jumping out of the way just in time. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Scowling, Spike put his weapon aside. “Bloody hell, Giles! You shouldn’t sneak up on a vampire like that.”

Giles gave Spike a condescending look. “What would you have done, screamed in agony at me?”

This was not what Spike needed. First Dracula decided to pop in and give warnings like he ran the place, then he went all the way to L.A. and said the same thing to Angel, and now Giles was breaking into his crypt and making fun of him.

“Listen here, ex-Watcher. I was doing some very important business, and you interrupted me.”

Giles rolled his eyes, a habit he had taken from Buffy and her friends. “Spike, you were on the telephone with Angel,” he said. “How is that business?”

Spike stalked over to the couch and flopped down on it angrily. “As a matter of fact, it was,” he sniffed.

This was exactly where Giles had wanted the conversation to go. “Business involving Dracula?” he asked wryly.

Spike narrowed his eyes. “Maybe.”

“I know what happened between you.”

_Cuts to the chase, doesn’t he?_

“Great for you then,” Spike said, turning his attention to the TV, which was showing yet another re-run of “Passions”.

Giles was afraid of this. He figured Spike would get all snippy and not want to talk about it. “I won’t tell anyone, you know.”

Spike’s head snapped in his direction. “What does it matter? Dracula’s left town. Besides, that was a long time ago.”

Giles noticed the almost wistful tone to Spike’s voice. There was also a hint of sadness.

“Right,” Giles said. “Well, I’ll be going then…”

When Spike didn’t turn around or say anything, he left.

Once Giles was gone, Spike’s chin fell to his chest. He was hoping to avoid all of this. He had learned to ignore the past, but lately it had gotten harder. It all started when he first came to Sunnydale. The last thing he expected was to meet Angel there, let alone meet him working with the Slayer. Then there was the whole thing when Angel had lost his soul, and he had been Angelus again…It was just so difficult.

And then Dracula came to town.

For the first time in a long while, Spike spent hours brooding in a very Angel-like manner. He eventually dozed off into a restless sleep.

***** **

The day after Dracula left Sunnydale, everyone was still anxious and on edge.

Everyone excluding Spike was at Giles’s flat, having a meeting about the fact that there was nothing to do. So basically it was a meeting for the sake of something to do. Only Giles, Willow, Tara, Xander, Dawn and Anya were there; Buffy and Riley were running late.

“I can’t believe this,” Xander exclaimed, throwing his cards on the table. He had just been beaten at poker – again – by Dawn. “I mean,” he said, standing up and pacing, “I can deal with being beaten by Anya – she’s had a thousand years of practice, but Dawn’s only fifteen!”

“It’s okay, Xander,” Anya said, patting him on the shoulder. “This won’t change how I feel about sleeping with you.” Xander gave her an incredulous look.

“Okay, maybe it will a little,” she amended. Xander rolled his eyes.

Giles sighed and placed his cards on the table. “I fold,” he said, taking his glasses off and cleaning them. Dawn smiled triumphantly. Willow and Tara had long ago folded out of the game.

“That’s $35 you owe me, Xander,” Dawn said, holding her hand out. He backed away.

“Hey now, Dawnie. You’ve wiped me out. You’ll have to wait until I can get another job before I give you your payoff.”

“Paying off a little girl, Xander? That’s low even for you.”

Everyone turned to the voice in surprise. Angel was standing in Giles’s doorway. “Angel?” Dawn said, a smile forming on her face.

“You’re not evil, are you?” Xander asked, automatically bristling in the presence of the vampire.

“Xander!” Willow said, giving him a scathing look. She looked at Angel. “You’re not, right?” she asked anxiously.

Angel chuckled and stepped further into the flat. “No, Willow,” he said, giving her a rare smile. He turned to Giles. “Wesley says hi.”

“And how is Wesley?” Giles asked, standing up from his chair. Angel shrugged. “He’s fine. So is Cordelia.”

“Still a man of few words, huh Angel?” Xander asked snidely. Angel didn’t even dignify him with an answer.

“I-if you don’t mind, why _are_ you in Sunnydale?” Giles asked, fairly certain he knew the answer.

“Dracula.”

“We already got rid of him,” Dawn said. “Well, Buffy did.”

“Speaking of Buffy, why haven’t you asked where she is yet?” Xander said.

“Yeah, Angel. Why haven’t you asked where she is?” Buffy asked, having just entered the room. Angel turned to her, ready to answer, when Riley came in behind her.

“What the hell is _he_ doing here? And why didn’t he call first?” he asked, glaring at Angel.

“We were just about to find out before you interrupted,” Dawn snapped, giving an encouraging smile to Angel. She had always liked him better than Riley.

Angel sighed. “Actually, I was wondering if you could tell me where Spike is,” he said, confirming Giles’s suspicions.

“What?” Buffy, Xander and Willow asked in unison.

“I need to talk to Spike and I was hoping that you could tell me where he’s staying.” Angel replied, looking Buffy in the eyes to make himself clear. When no one made a move to offer the information, Giles cleared his throat and said, “He stays in a crypt, rather near to your old mansion actually.”

“Thanks,” Angel said.

“What, that’s it?” Buffy asked, unable to keep the hurt from her voice.

“Yeah,” he said, brushing past her and into the night.

“What was that all about?” Xander asked once Angel had gone.

“I don’t know,” Buffy said, sitting down at the table. Riley stood silently behind her.

“Maybe he just wanted to visit his Childe,” Dawn said. Everyone stared at her. “What? I’ve had time to read some of Giles’ books.”

“Angel isn’t Spike’s Sire,” Buffy said. “Drusilla is.”

Dawn shrugged. “Yeah, but he might as well have been. I mean, he taught Spike everything he knows. When Spike first woke up as a vampire, Drusilla forgot to tell him that he could be killed by sunlight and he almost died.”

Again with the staring. “Spike told me! And I read about some of their…” Dawn fished for a word, “escapades, and that’s the way it seemed to me.”

Giles was amazed at Dawn, and also very proud of her. “So, what are we going to do?” Xander asked, looking at Buffy for instructions. She shrugged. He then looked at Giles.

“We’ll do nothing,” he said. When everyone looked as if they would protest, he sternly added, “It’s none of our business.”

This kind sentiment did not, however, quash Buffy’s burning curiosity, and the rest of the Scoobies felt the same way.

**Spike's Crypt**

Spike was still moping about Dracula and the fact that the Watcher knew what had happened. Nothing good was on TV, so he was sprawled on his bed with a bottle of whiskey in his hand. He raised it to his lips, only to find it empty.

“Bloody hell!”

“Spike.”

The sound of that voice sobered him up. “Peaches. What’re you doin’ here?” Spike asked, laying on the bed and staring up at the souled vampire.

“I heard what Giles said to you yesterday,” Angel said, grabbing the empty bottle from Spike’s hand and throwing it over his shoulder.

“How the bloody hell did you hear that?” Spike asked, flabbergasted. Angel rolled his eyes. “You forgot to hang up.”

“Oh.” Spike scratched his head. “Well, then what are you doin’ here?”

Angel sighed and grabbed his grandchilde’s shirt, lifting him off the bed. “I think we owe a visit to a certain vampire,” he said, a low growl escaping his throat.

Spike grinned. “Just what I was thinking, Angelus.”

** Giles's Flat, Ten Minutes Ago**

Giles had gone to another room to look for a book. While he was gone, the Scoobies discussed what to do about Angel.

“He was acting so weird,” Buffy said, frowning at the thought that Angel wasn’t being truthful with her. “I mean, if he really needs to talk to Spike, why didn’t he just call? Actually, Spike was acting really weird too. Yesterday he came and offered to ‘help’ with Dracula, and he didn’t even want anything.”

No one had an answer.

“So, are we going to sit here like lumps or are we going to investigate?” Xander asked, looking around at everyone.

“Yeah right,” Buffy scoffed, standing up and grabbing her coat. “Tara, can you stay here with Dawn?”

“Sure,” Tara said.

“Hey! I’m coming with you,” Dawn said, crossing her arms and glaring at her sister.

“No, you’re not. Whatever this is, I don’t want you getting involved,” Buffy said. “Especially since Angel said something about Dracula.”

Dawn hated the way that Buffy treated her – she wasn’t a little kid anymore, and she cared about Angel and Spike a lot. They were part of her family.

“You’re staying,” Buffy repeated, thinking that she had won the argument.

***

Buffy, Xander, Willow and Riley left to follow Angel. Since they knew he was headed to Spike’s place, it wasn’t that difficult. It was about a ten-minute drive, and when they reached the crypt they heard the sound of breaking glass.

“Do you think he’s beating Spike up?” Willow asked, slightly concerned for the blonde vampire.

“So what if he is?” Xander whispered back. “He’d just be saving us a lot of trouble.”

“Shh!” Buffy hissed. “I can hear them talking.”

The four of them could hear Angel say something about visiting a vampire, and then they heard Spike say, “Just what I was thinking, Angelus.”

Willow gasped. “I thought he wasn’t evil!”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Buffy said, not sounding very sure of herself. “If he were evil, why would have come to Giles’s apartment to ask for directions?”

“She has a point,” Xander said, even though he was reluctant to defend Angel.

“Guys, they’re talking again,” Riley interrupted. He was not happy about this whole situation, but he wanted to help Buffy any way he could.

“What rock does he live under these days?” they heard Spike ask. There was a faint rustling noise, and then Angel said, “Where do you think? I can’t believe I ever allowed you to live.”

“Hey! I resent that, Peaches!” Spike protested. “I just wasn’t sure if he’d still be there. I mean, he’s not the brightest crayon in the box but I had hoped he would’ve had enough sense to move.”

The Scoobies heard Angel snort. “Then you were giving him too much credit.”

“Well, when are we gonna leave?” Spike asked.

“As soon as I can find a freighter headed for Transylvania…” Angel’s voice trailed off as the two vampires moved further into the crypt.

The Scoobies looked at each other. “Whoa,” Xander said. “What was that all about?”

Buffy bit her lip. “I don’t know,” she said, frowning at the crypt.

“Do you think we should tell Giles?” Willow asked. The others looked at her. “Well maybe he knows something,” she defended.

Buffy shrugged. “I guess it couldn’t hurt. Let’s go before they notice we’re here.”

** Giles's Flat**

“I’m going to Transylvania,” Buffy said as soon as they were back at Giles’s place.

“Are you crazy?” Riley asked. “It’s obvious that they’re going after Dracula, and we all know how hard it was for you to defeat him.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Buffy bristled at Riley’s comment.

Sensing a fight, Xander stepped in. “It’s not like you can just leave,” he pointed out. “I mean, you have responsibilities.”

“I’m not the only one going,” she said.

“Who’s going with-” Xander’s eyes widened. “Oh no. You leave me out of this mess.”

“I’ll go,” Willow offered. Buffy smiled at her. “Thanks, Will.” She turned to Xander. “It wouldn’t be the same without you there to crack lame jokes,” she said, making her ‘Buffy-pouty-face’.

“Aw,” Xander groaned. “You know I can’t resist the pouty-face.”

“I knew it!” Anya said from in the kitchen. “You like Buffy’s pout better than mine!”

Xander rolled his eyes. “Ahn, you know I love your pout, but in a different way from Buffy’s.” Anya was only partly appeased. “You’ll pay for this later,” she mumbled.

“So you’re in?” Buffy asked happily, knowing that Xander would cave.

“Uh, yeah. Someone has to protect you girls.”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Now we just need to figure out what to tell Giles.”

“Tell me what?” Giles asked as he entered the main living room.

“We’ll get to that in a minute,” Buffy said hastily. “Where were you?” She hoped a change of subject would distract Giles.

“I was looking for a Watchers’ Journal,” he said, setting a leather book down on the table.

“What’s in it?” Buffy asked, sitting next to Giles and looking over his shoulder.

“Er, well, it has some important information regarding Dracula,” he said, still not willing to implicate Spike and Angel.

“What is with everyone!” Buffy exclaimed. “What is the big deal about this guy? He’s out of Sunnydale and out of the US-”

“How do you know he’s out of the US?” Giles asked, slightly suspicious.

“Um,” Buffy said. “Just a hunch?”

“She’s lying!” Dawn said glad to have a chance to pay Buffy back for making her stay behind. “She followed Angel to Spike’s crypt and heard them talking about going to Transylvania.”

Buffy glared at her younger sister but didn’t have a chance to defend herself before Giles began to scold her.

“I thought I told you to mind your own business,” he said, giving her a stern look. “I expected better from you, Buffy.”

Buffy hung her head in shame. She had just asked him to be her Watcher again, and here she was already going against him. “I’m sorry Giles,” she said. “I was just upset at Angel and I wanted to know why he would visit Spike.”

“Well, what did you find out?” he asked, instantly forgiving her. In all seriousness, he couldn’t blame her for being curious, especially about Angel.

Buffy shrugged. “He just said something about visiting a vampire, and that he and Spike would be going to Transylvania,” she said.

“We can only assume that means they’re going to ‘visit’ Dracula,” Riley cut in.

“Hmm, how curious,” Giles muttered.

“Uh-oh,” Xander said. “I sense that Giles is in Watcher research mode.”

Willow looked thoughtful. “Giles,” she said. “What does that Watchers’ Journal say about Dracula?” she asked. Back in high school she had been fascinated by the old Watchers’ Journals, but she’d never seen one that mentioned Dracula.

“Oh, I haven’t read it yet,” he said vaguely, clearly distracted by something. Willow looked slightly disappointed.

***

Buffy watched Giles as he flipped through several books, trying not to feel bored.

“So are you coming, Giles?” she asked. She really hoped her previously-ex Watcher could go with them to Europe. It would make her feel safer.

“Coming?” he asked distractedly, not even look up from his books.

“You know, to Transylvania,” Buffy said, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at his Watcher-like behavior. He scribbled something in a notebook.

“Hmm, I would imagine so,” Giles said. There was no way he was going to let Buffy get in the middle of the vampires’ fight. This was something she needed to stay out of, so if he couldn’t prevent her from following them he was at least going to prevent her from interfering.

** Crypt**

Spike was lying on his bed, thinking about how strange the past few days had been. First Dracula was in town, which was enough to seriously piss him off, and then Angel came sweeping in acting like Angelus. That was the thing bothering Spike the most – how strangely Angel was behaving. He knew Angel hadn’t lost his soul, but he was more like Angelus than he had been three years ago.

_I wonder why Captain Forehead is being so odd?_ he thought. Spike was in the middle of his musings – he was NOT brooding – when he heard Angel mumbling in his sleep.

Angel was sleeping on Spike’s ratty old couch. They’d had a brief argument about who would get the bed, but Angel had decided that it wasn’t worth arguing over.

Spike stood over Angel as he tossed about in his sleep. Spike shook his shoulder.

“Peaches. Wake up.”

Angel remained asleep, still tossing and moaning. “Angel,” Spike said, shaking him a little harder. “Wake up, you’re bloody annoying.”

Still he slept. Spike was about to give up and go back to bed when Angel moaned, “Darla…”

He turned around to stare at his grandsire.

“Darla, no. I’m sorry. No!”

Spike had had enough. He stood next to Angel. “Angelus! Wake up, you ponce!” he shouted in the elder vampire’s ear.

Angel shot up, panting. He had a wild look in his eyes, which had turned a golden color as he looked around, trying to figure out where he was. “William?” he asked, voice hoarse and still somewhat disoriented.

Spike lifted an eyebrow. Only Angelus ever called him that. Hell, Angelus was the only one _allowed_ to call him that.

“Must’ve been some dream,” he commented wryly. Angel shook his head. “I’ve been having dreams like that for a few weeks now,” he said.

“They sound…. interesting,” Spike said, lighting up a cigarette.

Angel stood up and began pacing. “It always begins with Darla and me at a hotel in Paris, and then Holtz finds us,” he said, clearly agitated. “He captures us, and then makes me stake her…” He trailed off as he relived the dream.

“Hmm,” Spike said. He didn’t really know how he was supposed to respond.

Angel sighed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said, sitting down on the couch. “Our ship leaves tonight, so you should get some sleep.” 

Spike wanted to tell him to sod off for trying to boss him around, but he knew Angel was right. They would need all the rest they could get.

***

Xander was waiting for Buffy when she got out of class.

“Hey,” she said, shifting her book bag on her shoulder. “Did you find it?” she asked. Xander nodded. “Yep. I’m good with the finding,” he said, sounding very proud of himself. “There’s only one cargo ship headed for Europe that has room for passengers.”

Buffy hit him playfully on the shoulder. “Look at you, information guy,” she said.

“That’s me. The information-getter.”

They walked to Xander’s car, ready to go to Giles’s flat. Buffy had told her mom that the trip was a “Slayer Thing”, and Joyce had surprisingly understood. Everyone was packed and ready to go – all they had to do was meet at Giles’s apartment and drive to the docks.

***

When they arrived at Giles’s, Tara and Willow were already there. Anya was there as well, although she and Tara were staying behind to keep an eye on things.

“Here we are,” Buffy said. “Let’s get this thing going.” She dropped her bag on the floor and sat down on the couch. “Is everyone ready to go?” she asked.

“All packed and ready,” Willow said happily. She was excited to go to Europe – she’d never left the country before.

“I believe we’re all ready to go,” Giles said, carrying two large suitcases into the room.

“Jeez, Giles,” Buffy said. “We’re trying for incognito here, not ‘hi Angel and Spike, notice us!’”.

“I’ll have you know that these are Xander’s,” Giles replied stiffly.

“What,” Xander said defensively when everyone stared at him. “You never know when we’ll need snacks. You wait and see – we’ll be in the middle of some foreign country and someone will get a jonesing for cheese puffs, and there I’ll be, happy to provide my services.”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Since everyone’s all set, let’s get going.”

Anya had offered to drive them to the docks. Willow and Tara hugged goodbye, and then they were on their way.

***

“You have our tickets, Angelus?” Spike asked once the ship was in sight.

“Who said anything about tickets?” Angel replied, walking towards the boat. Spike chuckled. _I like his way of thinking,_ he thought. He and Angel simply walked onto the ship. No one tried to stop them, but then they did look rather intimidating.

The freighter was set to leave port at around 8:00. Buffy and crew were situated in the few passenger cabins the ship had, while Angel and Spike were hanging out below deck.

“So what do we do now?” Xander asked as the gang stood on the main deck to watch the water.

“Now we wait,” Buffy replied.

***

“So what’s our plan?” Spike asked after they made themselves comfortable.

“We end this, once and for all,” Angel said with grim determination.

Spike nodded. “About bloody time.” The two vampires were silent for a few moments until Spike could no longer hold it in. “Could you have said anything more cliché?”

Angel rolled his eyes. “Shut up.”


	2. Ships Ahoy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel and Spike catch the Scoobies on the ship

**One Hour Later**

Spike and Angel had passed the time reminiscing about past adventures. They had just finished talking about the first Slayer Spike killed when Angel paused.

“Do you smell that?” he asked.

Spike sniffed. “I don’t smell anything,” he said. Angel sighed. “It’s Buffy,” he said.

“What about her?” Spike asked, confused.

“She’s here. So are Giles, Willow, and Xander.” Angel stood up and opened the hatch to the upper decks.

“Bloody hell!” Spike growled. “I can’t believe they followed us.”

“You can’t blame them for being curious,” Angel pointed out. “I can’t believe that Giles went along with it, though.”

“Doesn’t matter. What’re we gonna do about it?” Spike said, climbing up after Angel.

“We tell them what they want to know, then make them get off at the next port,” Angel replied.

Spike paused in his climb. “Why the bloody hell should we tell those nosy gits what they want to know? It’s their own fault they can’t keep their noses out of other people’s business.”

“I never said that we’re going to tell them _everything,_” Angel said, sounding irritated. “Just what they want to know. How can they ask about everything if they don’t have any idea what it is they want to know in the first place?”

“Good point.”

***

When they got to the upper deck, none of the Scoobies were in sight. “Where’d they go?” Spike wondered.

“I think Willow is still out,” Angel said, walking around to the other side of the deck. There was Willow, sitting on a folding chair as close to the rail as she dare go.

Spike and Angel shared a look. They silently approached her, one going to each side.

Without looking at them Willow said, “Look, mister, I still don’t wanna go to your room.” When the person by her shoulder didn’t respond she looked to the right and came face-to-face with Angel.

“Oh,” she said, looking very guilty. She glanced to her left and confirmed that Spike was there as well. “Um,” Willow said, gulping nervously. “I wanted to travel the world, and there was no better time than the present?”

“Sorry, luv,” Spike said. “We’re not gonna buy it.”

“Why don’t you go get the others,” Angel said. “I think we need to talk.”

Willow nodded and stood up. “I-I…We’ll just meet you out here,” she said. She turned and walked quickly toward their cabins.

“Maybe we shouldn’t have scared her so much,” Angel mused.

***

Buffy walked toward them purposefully. “So. Explain,” she said, stopping in front of the two vampires and crossing her arms.

“Why don’t _you_ explain,” Spike growled. “We’re not the ones putting their noses where they don’t belong.”

Buffy shared a look with the others. “It _is_ my business,” she said. “All of this has to do with Dracula, and that’s my business.”

To everyone’s surprise it was Angel who growled and said, “No, Buffy, it’s not. You had your fight with him and now it’s our turn.”

“What is your problem?” Buffy exclaimed. “You act like he did something personal to you.”

“He did.”

Everyone was silent. No one made a move to speak, so Xander said, “What, did he tell you that he had Buffy under his thrall? Did he threaten your manhood?”

Angel had him by the throat in seconds. “Don’t talk about things you can’t possibly understand, boy,” he growled.

Buffy stepped in and pulled Angel off of Xander. “Don’t make me hurt you,” she threatened.

Spike, who had been watching this interaction with glee, decided to put his two cents’ in. “This doesn’t concern you lot, so why don’t you just bugger off?” he said.

“Shut up, Spike!” Buffy snapped angrily, making a move toward him. Nothing relieved her tension better than kicking Spike’s ass.

“Back off!” Angel said, stepping in between them.

Buffy gaped at Angel. “What is with you? You’re acting like a crazy person,” she said.

Angel didn’t respond. He just grabbed Spike and walked away.

“What the hell?” Buffy said, completely confused by what had just happened.

Giles, who had been watching with mild interest, said, “This was a bad idea. I should never have agreed to let you come.”

Buffy looked at him suspiciously. “You know something,” she said. Giles fumbled with his glasses. “I-I most certainly do not!” he protested, looking very guilty.

“Spill,” she demanded, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes.

“Yeah, Giles,” Willow piped up. “If you know something you should tell us.”

Giles looked determined. “I will not,” he said. “This really is none of our business. I shouldn’t have let you come.”

Buffy glared.

***

Spike managed to pull himself away from Angel once they were below deck.

“What happened to telling them what they want to know?” he asked, rubbing his wrist and glaring at the older vampire.

“Fuck them!” Angel growled, punching the wall. “This isn’t any of their goddamn business. And Buffy, acting all self-righteous.” He was pacing and running his hands though his hair. His overall appearance was that of a crazy person.

“Whoa,” Spike said, backing away from him. “Calm down, Peaches.”

“Calm down? The last thing we need is them interfering, Spike,” Angel said. “You know what he did-”

“Of course I bloody know what he did,” Spike interrupted. “He fucking did it to me!”

The two vampires were face-to-face, panting slightly in their anger. Angel was the first to back down.

“I know, Spike, but I’ve let him get away with it for too long,” he said. “After all, it’s my fault.”

“Oh, don’t pull that bollocks again,” Spike said.

“It _is_ my fault, Spike,” Angel repeated, sitting down and leaning against the wall. Spike sighed and joined him on the floor.

“Well, you couldn’t know that he’d go rogue,” he offered, not entirely sure how to deal with this new, weird Angel.

“I guess,” Angel said, giving Spike a weak smile.

“Still, I got my jollies watching you hand the Slayer her balls,” Spike said, laughing at the memory. Angel grinned.

“Yeah, that was pretty fun,” he agreed. They were silent for a few moments.

“Has this ever happened before?” Spike asked.

“I don’t know,” Angel said. “I can’t recall any other time we’ve agreed in recent memory.”

Spike chuckled. “Maybe the world’s gonna end.”

***

The Scoobies were sitting in the ship’s lounge.

“Splainy,” Buffy said, looking at Giles expectantly.

Giles sighed. “Well, I don’t know much,” he conceded.

“Which is a whole boatload of shiny knowledge more than we have,” Xander said.

“Do you mind?” Giles snapped. Xander looked sheepish. “Sorry.”

“As I was saying,” Giles continued, “I don’t know many of the details except that Angelus and William the Bloody had a huge rivalry with Dracula. Not much else has been recorded, other than that it almost resulted in Spike’s death.”

“Oh.” Buffy glanced at the others. “I-I’m not sure what Angel has to do with this,” she said.

Giles reddened slightly. “Well, I, er, you see…” he paused to take a breath. “Angelus was Spike’s surrogate Sire, as Dawn pointed out yesterday, and when Dracula harmed him, Angelus had to defend his territory.”

“Ew! Okay, I take it back,” Buffy said. “I don’t want to know.”

“There’s more to it than that,” Angel said as he entered the room. Buffy stood up, knocking her chair over in the process. “Are we gonna have to fight?” she asked. “’Cause I don’t want to make a scene and get kicked off the boat-”

“No,” Angel interrupted, grinning at Buffy’s rant. “We’re not going to fight. Unless you want to…?”

Buffy shook her head. “Nope. Just call me Pacifist Buffy.” She grimaced. “Okay, maybe not.”

“I want to fight,” Spike interjected.

“Shut up, Spike!” everyone chorused.

“What more is there?” Giles asked, ever the curious Watcher. “The Council’s records are rather, er, incomplete.”

“There’s a lot more,” Angel said grimly. “You might want to sit down.”

Giles gulped. “Oh. Well, then, does this mean you’re going to tell us the whole story?”

“You bet your kittens, Watcher,” Spike said. “And it’s no fairytale.”

“Well, I imagine nothing involving the two of you is,” Giles retorted.

“Ooh, looks like the Watcher finally grew a pair.”

“That’s enough, Spike,” Angel said, glaring at the blond vampire. He sat down in a chair next to Willow and sighed. “I guess this all started in 1755-”

“That was two years after Darla sired you,” Giles said. Angel glowered.

“If you want the full story, then there are going to be no interruptions,” he said.

“Yes, sorry,” Giles said, looking properly chastened.

“Well, get with the telling already!” Xander said, curious about what could have caused such a rivalry between the three vampires.

Angel glared at him. “Anyway, in 1755 Darla and I had moved further into mainland Europe. By that time I already had a reputation-”

“Yes, you were already known as ‘The Scourge of Europe’-” Giles stopped talking at Angel’s venomous look.

“We had settled in Transylvania,” Angel began again.

“Enter tall, dark and gruesome, right?” Xander asked excitedly.

“Do you _want_ me to hit you?” Angel replied, more than a little annoyance in his tone. Xander shook his head.

“Moving on,” Angel said, sounding very annoyed at their inability to stay quiet. “There was a nice, dark castle that Darla had her eye on, so I decided to kill the count that lived there and give it to her as a present. For some reason that is lost on me, I decided to make him my first Childe.” He paused to let everyone absorb this information.

“Whoa,” Willow said, her eyes as wide as saucers. “Are you saying that you – that he’s – you mean-” She was so stunned that she couldn’t even form a proper sentence to convey her shock.

Giles recovered quickly. “Angel, do you mean to tell us that _you’re_ Dracula’s sire?”

Angel nodded.

Giles was excited. “Do you have any idea how important this information would be to the Watcher’s Council?” he said, practically gushing.

“Yeah, too bad they _fired you_,” Xander said pointedly.

Buffy looked slightly sick. “I-I don’t understand,” she said. “If you’re his sire, then why’d he say you were unworthy?”

Everyone looked at her. She avoided their eyes as she said, “Uh, when he came to my room that night, he noticed that I’d been bitten before” – everyone but Spike knew that she was referring to the time in her senior year when she had forced Angel to feed from her to save his life – “and he said that you were unworthy.”

Spike snored. “That bloody wanker. He never did show any respect for his elders.”

“And you do?” Angel said. “Wait, he was in your room?”

Buffy shrugged. “Yeah, well, water under the bridge.”

Angel was obviously bristling from this news, but he continued with his story. “Darla hated him from the beginning, but she was glad to have his estate under our control. It kept the villagers off our backs. One night we caught him trying to sell the castle to a local merchant, so we left him behind for the mob.”

“Mob?” Xander asked.

“Yeah, one of the local villagers caught us feeding on his family.”

“Oh. Sorry I asked,” Xander said, looking slightly green.

“So where does Spike come in?” Buffy asked. “I mean, that’s like 120 years before his time.”

“Damn right,” Spike said. “He had a beef with Darla and Angelus from before my time, and the wanker still took it out on me.”

“What did he do to you?” Willow asked, concern evident in her voice. She and Spike had bonded somewhat since he was chipped and formed a tentative friendship.

“We’ll get there,” Angel said. “Sometime after Drusilla sired Spike, we ended up leaving London and heading back to Transylvania. Darla missed her castle. We didn’t think that Dracula had survived the mob. It was the last time we underestimated him. When we got there, he was waiting for us. The girls got away, but he trapped Spike and me.” 

“How did he manage to overpower you?” Giles asked, his Watcher’s curiosity getting the best of him. “I mean, you and Darla were Master vampires, and there was just one of him.”

“Ah, but in the hundred-plus years since we’d last seen him, he’d been practicing his gypsy magic. His family came from a powerful clan, and after we left him to die he started planning his revenge. When we found him, he was already difficult to kill. He had some of his minions throw Spike and me in the dungeons, and then he started.”

“Started what?” Buffy asked. She regretted asking once she saw the twin looks of pain and disgust on Spike and Angel’s faces.

**Transylvania** **, 1886**

“So this bloke Dracula was one of your children, huh?” Spike asked as the four vampires traveled to Castle Dracula.

“He was my Childe, yes,” Angelus said, sharing an exasperated look with Darla. It was taking Spike a while to understand vampire tradition. William had just recently changed his name to ‘Spike’ and affected a Cockney accent. It was driving Darla mad, but Angelus found the whole thing amusing. Not that he’d ever admit it. It was obvious that William was trying to impress them.

“And you just left him to an angry mob.”

Angelus and Darla shrugged. “He was gettin’ tiresome,” Angelus said.

“You’d do the same to me, wouldn’t you?” Spike asked. Although he was fairly certain that Angelus would leave him in a heartbeat (so to speak) he still had to ask.

Angelus grinned. “I guess that makes it your prerogative to not become tiresome, doesn’t it, boy?”

Spike glared.

The four vampires rode on in silence for another half hour. They were only five miles away from the castle when Drusilla began to moan and clutch at her head. “What is it, pet?” Spike asked, concerned for her. He had only ever witnessed one of her visions, and it still freaked him out a bit.

“Just leave her be, William,” Angelus said, watching Dru and waiting for her to start telling them what she saw.

“The Dark Prince is so angry with us,” she whined, holding her hands open as if they were a book that she was reading from. “He wants to hurt Daddy and Grandmum.” She began to whimper quietly.

“It’s all right, Dru,” Darla said soothingly, rubbing the seer’s back.

“What the bloody hell does that mean?” Spike asked.

“It means that Dracula might have survived the mob, and that he won’t be too happy to see us,” Angelus said.

“Oh.” Spike frowned, upset that he couldn’t understand Drusilla’s visions.

“Don’t worry, Will,” Angelus said. “The more time you spend with the lass, the better you’ll be able to interpret what she says.”

Spike sighed. “Whatever you say, Angelus.”

The carriage finally pulled up outside of the castle. “Spike, you and I will go in first,” Angelus said. Spike nodded. He was eager to prove himself to Angelus, and he also wanted to make sure that Drusilla was safe.

The two vampires quietly approached the castle. If Dracula was in there, Angelus wanted to take him by surprise. Of course, there was always the chance that he had interpreted Drusilla’s vision wrong and no one was waiting for them.

The main doors had been left open.   
“That doesn’t look good,” Spike commented. Angelus growled. “What part of quiet didn’t you understand?” he said.

“Sorry,” Spike said, rolling his eyes and not sounding very sorry.

They entered the castle, and no one leapt out at them.

“Huh,” Angelus said, stopping all attempts at being sneaky. “I suppose Drusilla was wrong.” Spike shrugged.

“The Seer was not wrong,” a voice said from somewhere above them.

“Who’s there?” Spike said, looking all around them for the source of the voice.

“It’s Dracula,” Angelus said. “So, you survived.”

“No thanks to you,” the Count said, materializing out of smoke in front of them.

“Bloody hell!” Spike said, clearly impressed with Dracula’s display.

“I see you’ve picked up some new tricks,” Angelus said coolly.

Dracula began to circle the two other vampires. “Yes,” he said. “I’ve had one hundred and thirty one years to practice the magicks of my family. I am unbeatable.”

Angelus snorted. “That’s very nice,” he said. “Darla and I would like our castle back.” 

Dracula sneered. “Your castle? You mean the castle you stole after killing me.”

Angelus shrugged. “Potato, potahto. We’re moving in.”

“No.”

Spike laughed. “Are you mad? You don’t say ‘no’ to Angelus!”

Dracula smiled softly. “I can see that Angelus has moved on to…better…things.”

Spike somehow missed the sarcasm. “You’re bloody right he has. So why don’t you show us to our room and we’ll settle in?”

Dracula smiled again, and it made Spike somewhat nervous. “Of course,” he said silkily.

“Where are my manners?” He turned and began to walk up a huge flight of stairs. Spike gave Angelus a questioning glance. Angelus shrugged. “It’s suspicious,” he said, “But we need the castle.” They followed Dracula up the stairs.

When they caught up with him, he was standing outside of two large oak doors. “Your rooms, Angelus,” he said with a little bow.

“Right,” Angelus said. “I’ll go fetch the girls.” He turned and began to leave, but paused when he reached Spike. “Be alert, William,” he whispered. “Something isn’t right.”

With one last glance at his first childe, Angelus left the two vampires alone.

Spike couldn’t quell the glimmer of fear he felt when Angelus left him alone with Dracula. Drusilla’s ominous words were still in his mind as his ‘uncle’ showed him where his rooms were.

***

“And that was my mistake,” Angel said. “I should never have left Spike alone with him.”

“Bloody right,” Spike said from the corner he had retreated to. “That ponce was one creepy bastard.” 

Willow gave him a sympathetic look. “Maybe we should stop for the night,” she said. Spike shook his head. “The sooner you lot know what happened, the sooner you can help us kill the wanker.”

“You would really kill family, Angel?” Giles asked. He knew a little about vampiric traditions and ‘laws’, and killing your own blood was the worst of the crimes.

“He broke all familial ties after what he did,” Angel said, a deadly seriousness in his voice.

“As soon as I left them alone I could tell that something wasn’t right.”

**Transylvania** **, 1886**

Angelus walked to the carriage, planning to tell Darla that they should only stay for one day. However, when he got outside he noticed that something was wrong. The two women were nowhere to be found. “Darla!” he yelled, trying to sniff them out. “Drusilla!” He caught their scent, mingled with others, in the direction of the thick woods that surrounded the castle. The woods were part of the reason Darla had wanted the castle – she figured that villagers would get lost in them and stumble into their waiting, hungry hands.

His senses prickled, and he knew that William was in danger. Angelus ran back toward the castle, so focused on rescuing Will and beating Dracula to a bloody pulp that he didn’t see the three vampires come at him from the side. Everything went black.

***

Back inside, Spike was walking around his new room as Dracula watched from the doorway.

“Nice place,” he said, going through the drawers in the hand-carved bureau.

“Thank you,” Dracula said. “I hoped you would like it…after all, it is the last thing you will see before you die.”

Spike looked up from his snooping. “What?”

But Dracula was no longer at the door. Spike whirled around, and Dracula was suddenly in front of him. “How did you-”

He was cut off as Dracula viciously backhanded him. Dracula looked down at the unconscious form of his ‘nephew’. 

“Magic,” he said, that small, sadistic smile on his face.

***

“Next thing I knew I was waking up in some kind of torture chamber with my hands chained to the wall,” Spike said, lighting a cigarette.

“Wow,” Willow said. “We had no idea that you two had a history with him, especially one like this.”

Spike glanced at Angel. “Maybe we should turn in for the night,” he said. “I’m gettin’ tired of all this talk.” 

Everyone agreed and stood up to head back to their rooms.

“Where are your rooms?” Buffy asked Angel. He looked at Spike, then back at Buffy. “Um,” he said. “Well, it’s on the lower deck.” 

Buffy narrowed her eyes. “There are no rooms on the lower deck,” she said. Her eyes widened. “Oh my God! I don’t believe you two – you stowed away?!” she yelled. “You’re stowaways!”

“Say it a little louder, luv, I don’t think the captain heard you,” Spike said, staring incredulously at Buffy. He was amazed at how slow the Slayer and her little gang could be. Buffy’s shout had drawn the attention of the other Scoobies.

“You guys don’t have a room?” Xander said, unable to hold his laughter in.

“Xander and I can share, and you can have my room,” Giles offered. Xander’s mouth fell open. “Hey! I do not want to share with the stuffy British guy!” He stopped when he caught Giles’s warning look.

“Are you two okay with sharing?” Willow asked anxiously. Angel and Spike shared a look.

“It won’t be the first time,” Angel said with a shrug.

While Buffy, Xander and Willow were busy trying not to gag, Giles showed the two vampires to the room.

“Thanks, Watcher,” Spike said as they looked around the room. “I didn’t fancy sleeping with a crate for a pillow.”

“My pleasure,” Giles said. “The room I will be sharing with Xander-” he looked less than happy at the prospect “-is just across the hall.”

Angel nodded in thanks at the Watcher as he left the two vampires alone. Spike sighed heavily as he flopped onto the bed. “Never thought I’d have to relive all of that,” he said, kicking his boots off.

Angel was staring gloomily out of the porthole. This dredging up of the past was escalating the conflicts inside him. He could feel Angelus surfacing more and more, and the worst part was that he didn’t care. Maybe Angelus was what they needed to defeat Dracula. No one else had been able to do it, but just maybe the Scourge of Europe could defeat the gypsy vampire – no one messed with his Childe and got away with it.

“Bloody hell, Peaches!” Spike’s voice broke in on his thoughts. “I can practically _hear_ you brooding!”

Angel sighed. Being so near to Spike after such a long time was not helping. “Shut it, William,” he said, moving to sit on the bed. Giles had booked a room with a single bed, and Angel wanted to strangle the Watcher. He knew there was no way Giles could have foreseen how the night would turn out, and he did appreciate the room, but he had to share with Spike.

Angel lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. “Maybe this was a mistake,” he said.

Spike sat up. “What, going after Dracula? How can you say that?” He actually looked hurt at the idea that Angel wouldn’t want to punish Dracula for what he’d done. He knew that Angelus was an evil, heartless bastard, but he’d always honored their family bond. There were even times when Spike thought – but what Angel was saying right now hurt.

“I don’t mean it like that,” Angel said, sounding a bit frustrated. “I just don’t think I’m…” he trailed off, unsure of how to say what he was feeling.

“You don’t think you’re what?” Spike said angrily, leaping up from the bed. “Ballsy enough to do what you should have done a century ago?”

In a flash Angel had Spike up against the wall. “Don’t you dare talk to me like that, boy!” he growled, a touch of his old accent coloring his words. Spike laughed, ignoring Angel’s arm at his throat.

“You don’t scare me anymore, Angel,” he said, still chuckling. “You haven’t scared me since 1900.” For a second Spike thought Angel was going to dust him right there – the older vampire’s face was contorted with rage. Then his expression cleared, and he smiled at the blond. Spike considered taking back his previous statement. Angel released his hold on Spike and took a few steps back.

“Thank you, Spike, for giving me the push I needed,” he said, still smiling at the younger vampire.

Spike felt like he was missing something. “Uh, you’re welcome,” he said, a little uneasy at Angel’s sudden change in attitude. Angel could sense his Grandchilde’s confusion.

“I’ve been having some…difficulty with myself for a while,” he said, returning to his previous position on the bed. “Even before Dracula came to L.A. Anyway, you’ve helped me to clear some things up.”

Angel sighed at Spike’s uncomprehending expression. He had not missed Spike’s denser moments. “Let’s just say that I’ve allowed my ‘inner self’ to come out,” he said, raising an eyebrow and hoping that Spike would take the hint.

With a jolt, Spike realized what Angel was hinting at. He grinned. “Well, this trip just got a lot more interesting.”

***

Both vampires had stayed in their room all day sleeping. Neither of them had been sleeping very well before the trip, and rest was required if they wanted to have even a slim chance of overtaking Dracula. Spike was the first to wake as the sun went down. He stood up and stretched, then moved over to look out of the porthole. All Spike could see was a never-ending stretch of ocean. “Not much longer, I expect,” he said. He looked over at Angel, who had just begun to stir.

“If you don’t quit staring at me, William, I will throw you overboard,” he grumbled, sitting up and scratching his head.

“You’ve never been much of a morning person,” Spike said. He cocked his head to the side. “Well, evening person.”

Angel sighed. “It would be better if you didn’t talk,” he said. Spike rolled his eyes. “So, what’s on tonight’s agenda?” he asked, flopping on the bed and making it bounce to annoy Angel.

“I suppose we ought to finish our little story,” he said, sounding less than pleased at the idea. “We should see if the others are awake.”

***

They found the Scoobies on the upper deck having dinner. Buffy was the first to notice the two vampires’ presence. “Look who finally woke up,” she said, setting her fork down. “We’ve been waiting for you guys.”

“Yeah, you two sleep like the dead!” Xander added.

“They are dead,” Willow said, patting Xander’s back with a pitying expression. Giles merely rolled his eyes at the boy and addressed Angel and Spike. “Are you ready to continue?”

Spike glanced at Angel, waiting for his cue. Angel couldn’t help but smirk at the change in his Grandchilde – after their ‘discussion’ last night he had become much more submissive. He wondered if Spike had even noticed the change. Spike was a little uneasy at Angel’s expression, and he didn’t like it.

Giles cleared his throat. “If you’re not prepared to talk we under-”

“We’re fine,” Angel interjected. “Let’s just get this over with. I want to take care of this as quickly as possible.”

After his….release….last night, Angel found that he could barely tolerate the presence of the Slayer and her posse. If any of the Scooby gang noticed the slight lilt to his voice, none of them mentioned it. Both vampires pulled up chairs and sat at the table.

“Where did I leave off?” Angel asked, inwardly annoyed that he had to explain everything to the humans. He would much rather not see them for the rest of the trip, but it would be somewhat difficult to rid himself of the Slayer.

“Um, you had just been telling us that Angelus was knocked out and Spike was in a dungeon,” Willow said. She was much more interested in Angelus and Spike’s history than she let on.

Angel sighed. “Ah, yes. Those slimy cowards had just blindsided me and dragged me down to where William was,” he said. “If I hadn’t been so worried for the girls it never would have happened.”

This little slip did not go unnoticed by anyone at the table. Spike cleared his throat and glanced at Angel pointedly. He was unfazed. He honestly didn’t care what anybody knew or didn’t know – all he wanted to do was make Dracula pay. It had been left for far too long, and his Childe was far too cocky.

“Are you feeling well, Angel?” Giles asked, more than a little concerned by the vampire’s behavior. Buffy and Willow exchanged worried glances.

Angel ground his teeth together. “Yes,” he said. “I’m fine. Anyway, when I finally regained consciousness I was also chained up in the dungeon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It looks like there are some hits (no comments though :( ) so I'm going to keep posting what I already have written. I'm really exited to finally share this with people!


	3. Making Waves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scoobies get the truth about Angel's weird behavior.

**1886**

“Angelus!” Spike hissed, trying to rouse his Grandsire. He had just woken up when the three vampires had dragged an unconscious Angelus into the dungeon and chained him up. The other vampires left without saying a word. Spike hoped that Angelus would wake up soon so he could get them out of this mess.

“Bloody fucking hell,” Angelus groaned, rattling his chains. “Those bastards! They will regret this.”

Spike shuddered. In his six years as a vampire he had seen Angelus do some pretty horrific things – he was glad he wasn’t one of those vamps.

“What do you think the ponce wants?” Spike asked once Angelus appeared awake enough.

“Revenge, no doubt,” he said, examining their surroundings and trying to find a way to escape. He tugged on the chains experimentally but they didn’t budge an inch. “Well, I can say without a doubt that this castle is very well built,” he noted.

Spike rolled his eyes. “Jolly good for them,” he said. “How the bloody hell does that help us any?”

“Watch your tone, or I might leave you here with them,” Angelus warned.

***

“You wouldn’t have left him behind, would you?” Willow broke in. Angel smiled patronizingly at her. “Of course I would have, little Willow,” he said. There was stunned silence after this declaration. Angel had to restrain himself from mocking them out loud. “I would have returned for him eventually,” he said. At their blank stares, he added, “Well, I obviously didn’t leave him. Lighten up.”

Buffy looked at her friends and then turned to Angel, eyes narrowed. “Okay, what the hell is going on?” she demanded. “Angel, you’ve been acting all weird ever since you came up from your room.”

Spike scowled. He just couldn’t contain himself, could he? It wouldn’t do for the Slayer to turn on them before they even reached land.

Giles and the Scoobies agreed with Buffy. “You have been behaving oddly since you joined us,” Giles said.

Angel shrugged. “I don’t know what you mean,” he said. He really didn’t want to get into it with them right now. He’d rather avoid them entirely, at least until they got off the ship (it’s always harder to get away with murder in such an enclosed space) but if they pressed him much harder he would probably snap.

“They’re right,” Willow said. “You aren’t acting like yourself.”

“How would you know what I’m like?” Angel snapped, annoyed that she would presume to know him.

“Hey! Don’t talk to her like that!” Xander said, glaring at the vampire. Buffy was getting fed up with everyone. “Would you just stop it!” she said, raising her voice just enough to let them know she was serious.

Spike stood up. He couldn’t stand the tension much longer. Angel was digging a hole, and he didn’t want to be there when the Slayer exploded. “Well, I’m knackered. I’m off for a nap-” he turned to leave, but Angel stopped him.

“Sit down!” he growled, pushing Spike back into his seat.

Buffy jumped up, her chair falling backwards. “That is it! Either you tell me what the hell is going on right now or-”

Angel was standing now, too. “Or what?” he asked, moving so that the table was no longer in between them. “What will you do, Buffy? Hit me? Stake me?” He grinned, but it was empty. “Send me to hell?”

There was a tense silence. Everyone was staring between the two, waiting to see what would happen. After a minute of glaring at each other, Buffy’s face went blank.

“Oh my God,” she said, voice hardly a whisper. “How?”

Angelus chuckled. “And it only took you, what, thirty minutes?”

“Okay, I’m confused here,” Xander said, not understanding what had passed between Angel and Buffy. Willow seemed to be in the same boat as Xander, so to speak. Giles, however, seemed to have reached the same conclusion as Buffy. His face had gone rather white, and he was staring at Angelus and Spike with his mouth agape.

“You were fine when we boarded the boat,” he said. “How is this possible?” He glanced quickly at Buffy, but immediately regretted it when she turned on him.

“Don’t you dare look at me like that, Giles!” she yelled. “You know me better than that.”

_The poor girl looks close to tears_, Angelus thought, getting perverse satisfaction out of her distress. _I sure did miss watching the Slayer suffer. It’s funny that her Watcher thinks that would still work._

“Does someone want to explain what the _hell_ is going on?” Willow asked, her voice two octaves higher than normal.

Angelus was surprised at how slow the Scoobies could be. He really should have known better; he had experienced it first hand before, but this was ridiculous. He sighed dramatically and put his arm around Willow. “I guess you could say I’m not the same boring, unhappy person I was when I got on this hunk of metal,” he said, petting her hair creepily.

Buffy was on him in an instant. “Don’t touch her!” she growled, shoving him hard enough to make him lose his balance.

Angelus laughed. “Buffy, Buffy, Buffy!” he said. “Don’t worry so much. We’re all friends here, we all want the same thing.” He backed slowly towards Spike, hands raised in a placating gesture.

Buffy’s eyes were hard. “We’re not friends,” she said, putting herself between the vampires and the others.

“Why don’t we let the Slayer cool down, Angelus,” Spike suggested, not particularly wanting to get his ass kicked by Buffy. Xander and Willow exchanged a frightened glance.

“Yes, perhaps that would be for the best,” Giles said, realizing that their situation was not a good one. They were out in the middle of the ocean, and any fighting between them could be disastrous.

“No, I don’t think so,” Angelus said, shaking his head. “You need to know what you’re dealing with.”

Spike could feel the anger and tension radiating off of Angelus. He knew that the situation could explode at any moment, and like Giles, he didn’t fancy the idea of a fight in the middle of the ocean.

He put a hand on Angelus’s shoulder. “Angelus, let’s just-”

Angelus lashed out without thinking. He turned and hit Spike, sending him crashing into the wall. “We need to deal with this now!” he growled.

“That’s it,” Buffy said, finally at the end of her rope. She cleared the short distance between them and began attacking the vampire. Angelus fought back, but he was mainly on the defensive. Xander, Willow and Giles had moved to the other side of the room to give them space to fight.

When Buffy noticed that Angelus was holding back she stopped attacking him. “Why aren’t you fighting?” she asked. It went against everything she knew about him.

Angelus wiped some of the blood off of his chin. “I’m being serious here, Slayer,” he said, leaning against the wall as he looked at her. “I have more important things to do right now than fight with you.”

Buffy wasn’t sure if she should be insulted or not. She decided to go with not. “Are you saying you want a truce or something?” she asked, trying hard to even grasp the concept of a truce with Angelus.

Angelus laughed. “Yes. That is exactly what I’m saying. It’s not like this could end well otherwise.”

After a quick glance at Giles, who merely nodded, Buffy agreed. “All right.”

Spike got up and everyone resumed their places at the table.

“So are you going to tell us how this happened?” Xander asked. “It’s obvious that this isn’t like the first time you came out to say hello.”

Angelus rolled his eyes. “Remind me why I didn’t kill you?” he asked.

“Because you’re a great pouf?” Spike piped up, glaring at Angelus. He wasn’t going to forgive him so easily. That punch had really hurt. 

“Are you going to be mopey for the rest of the night?” Angelus asked, amused at Spike’s petulance. Spike crossed his arms and tried his hardest not to pout.

“I might,” he said stiffly. Angelus laughed. “And you want me to treat you like the 120 year old Master vampire that you are,” he said.

“Get bent!” Spike retorted. Angelus rolled his eyes.

The Scoobies, Giles in particular, were watching this exchange with interest. The last time Angelus had been loose they hadn’t gotten to see much interaction between him and the other vampires.

“Well,” Angelus said, gaining everyone’s attention. “None of you geniuses noticed, but I wasn’t exactly normal before we left. It just kind of…happened.” He shrugged. “I don’t know exactly how, but I’m not complaining.”

Spike scoffed. “Of course not. How could you pass up the chance to slowly ruin my afterlife?”

“You are getting on my nerves, Spike,” Angelus warned. Everyone was a little uneasy at the gleam in his eyes. “I would hate to get revenge on Dracula and then end up having to kill you for being an annoying baby.”

“You wouldn’t kill me,” Spike scoffed. “Couldn’t even do it when I was in that bloody wheelchair.”

Angelus’s glare was venomous. “The only reason I never laid a hand on you then was because of Drusilla,” he said, twisting the proverbial knife. He would never admit it, but the fact was that Spike was just about the only person he would never kill.

Everyone else was watching with interest, eyes darting between the vampires as they argued. Giles was fascinated mostly from a Watcher’s standpoint, but deep down he couldn’t forget his hatred for Angelus. Even after all this time he still thought about Jenny.

Spike slammed his fist on the table. “Fucking hell, it’s always back to that with you!” he growled. “You could never leave well enough alone.”

All eyes were on Angelus, waiting for his response to this outburst. He appeared calm, but anger was boiling just under the surface.

“I will say this once,” he said after a moment. “Drusilla was my pet, a way to keep myself amused when Darla was in one of her bitchier moods, which was admittedly often. I was always perfectly happy to let the two of you run off and do whatever the hell you wanted. I had other things to do. The only reason I was so attentive to her back in Sunnydale is because…fuck, I missed you. Both of you. You have _no _idea what it’s like, having a soul. Caring. Feeling guilty for what I did. When I was free again, I went a little crazy. It won’t happen again.”

He stood up and left before anyone had a chance to respond. It was just as well; no one had anything to say after that.

Giles was watching Spike closely. Even though he technically no longer worked for the Council, he was fascinated to see this dynamic between Angelus and Spike. Many Watchers had tried to document the Four, but very few had found anything solid. This was a veritable goldmine. He doubted anyone had been able to observe them this closely and live.  
Xander finally broke the silence. “A _little_ crazy? Pardon me if I take issue with that statement.”

Buffy shook her head. “I can’t believe this is happening. It’s like we’re trapped in a nightmare,” she said, sounding very weary. “Willow, do you think you can fix him when this is over?”

Willow glanced nervously at Spike. “Well, I still have the orb of Thesulah. I-I’m pretty sure I could do it again once we get back home.”

“I wouldn’t hold your breath, Red,” Spike said. “I don’t think that something ‘happened’ to him in the way you think.” He wouldn’t meet anyone’s eyes as he got up and went in the same direction Angelus had gone.

***

“Are we really going to sit here and do nothing?” Xander asked, looking expectantly at Buffy and Giles.

“I don’t think we have a choice,” Buffy said, sounding very unhappy. “As much as I hate the idea of Angelus being free again, there’s really nothing we can do right now.”

“I agree,” Giles said. He really hated the idea of working with the vampires, but they did have a very serious problem. The fact that Angelus was so adamant about ending Dracula worried Giles greatly – the vampire must have done something truly terrible.

“It is my opinion that Spike and Angelus require your help to defeat Dracula,” he told Buffy. “Otherwise this encounter would have gone rather differently.” Giles was disgusted at the thought of helping Jenny’s murderer, but getting rid of Dracula was more important than his personal feelings.

“That makes sense,” Willow said. “They both seem really bothered by whatever happened between them.”

“So it’s settled,” Buffy said. “We help for now, but the second we’re back in Sunnydale we fix this.”

“If we can,” Xander muttered. He had never hidden his dislike for Angel, let alone his hatred for Angelus. Luckily no one heard his comment. He couldn’t believe that Buffy still wouldn’t consider the option of just staking Angelus.

“Maybe we should go and find them,” Willow suggested. “I mean, they could be getting into trouble.”

“Angelus is a big boy,” Buffy said. She really didn’t want to spend any more time in Angelus’s presence than absolutely necessary. “He doesn’t need me to baby-sit. Well, maybe Spike does.”

Willow shook her head. “No, I mean… they’re probably, you know, hungry.”

“Oh,” Buffy said, sharing a glance with Giles. She got up and went to find them.

***

Spike found him at the back of the ship. Angelus was standing at the rail, watching the ocean. Spike stood next to him but didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure there was anything _to_ say. After a few minutes of silence Angelus turned to Spike.

“As much as it pisses me off, I don’t think we can do this without the Slayer’s help,” he said. Spike nodded. He did not want to disagree with Angelus and make him mad – he was already in a bad enough mood. “Those saps have no idea what to expect, so we have to tell them.”

“She did manage to run him out of Sunnyhell,” Spike pointed out.

“Maybe so, but he didn’t fuck with her like he did with us,” Angelus said. What happened in Sunnydale sounded like a cakewalk compared to Transylvania. “She can’t help us if she’s not prepared.”

“So prepare me,” Buffy said, approaching the two vampires. “You’re right. If you want my help then I need to know what I’m dealing with.”

Angelus sighed. He really wanted to get this over with so he could go back to doing what he did best, but he knew that he would have to tolerate the Slayer while he needed her. “The Watcher should probably hear this too,” he said. He made his way back to the others, not waiting to see if Spike and the Slayer were following.

**Wolfram & Hart, L.A. Branch**

Lilah Morgan sighed as she leaned back in her chair. If there was one person she hated more than Angel, it was Lindsey, but she couldn’t help agreeing with him at the moment – she just didn’t understand the Senior Partners’ attitude toward the souled vampire. She would just as soon have him killed, but the Senior Partners insisted that Angel must be turned to their side. She thought this whole Darla thing was overkill – they went to a lot of trouble to bring her back from the dead, and the ex-vampire’s efforts to turn Angel didn’t seem to be working. Lilah was about to go home and drown her frustrations in scotch when there was a timid knock on her door.

“What?” she snapped. A little man that she vaguely recognized entered her office, looking extremely nervous.

“This better be good,” she said, lifting an eyebrow when the man whimpered.

“Um, well, Miss Morgan-” he swallowed nervously “-Angel’s gone.”

Lilah blinked. “Gone? I hope you have an explanation,” she said.

“Heh. Well, shortly after receiving a phone call he left the Hyperion. Our seers told us that he went to Sunnydale and met with William the Bloody.” Frank, the scared man, was surprised that Lilah was so calm at this new development.

“Do you know what he did after that?” she asked, not letting the man know how happy this news made her. _So, Angel visited his Childe_, she thought. _Maybe this plan isn’t so useless after all_.

Frank nodded.

“Good.” Lilah’s smile made him very uncomfortable. “Tell me everything.”

***

Giles rubbed his forehead warily. “I don’t know how this could have happened,” he said. He, Willow and Xander had stayed at the table after the others had run off. They didn’t really have anywhere else to go other than their rooms anyway.

“Obviously Angelus and Spike are lying,” Xander said. “I mean hello, evil vampires? They must have gotten groiny, which by the way, ew.”

“Oh come on, Xander,” Willow said, scowling at her friend. “Angel and Spike did not sleep together. Well, they slept together but they didn’t _sleep_ together. Anyway, Angelus said he wasn’t sure how it happened.”

“Again, _vampires_,” Xander pointed out, stubborn to no end. “What other way is there?”

“It hardly matters,” Giles snapped, sick of their bickering. “The point is that Angelus is free. This is no laughing matter.”

“It’ll all work out though, right Giles?” Willow asked, looking more vulnerable and scared than she had since high school. He gave her a small smile, but couldn’t think of anything comforting to say. He was spared when Angelus stormed toward their table, obviously still in a foul mood. The three of them were silent as he began pacing back and forth. Giles was rather uncomfortable as he realized that they were alone with the vampire. There wasn’t much he could do, though, so he just watched.

“Giles,” Angelus said suddenly, startling the Watcher out of his thoughts. Giles cleared his throat nervously. He wouldn’t soon forget the hours of torture at this creature’s hands, and he didn’t care how weak it made him seem – he was frightened of Angelus. It would be stupid not to be.

“Yes?”

“I’m…I don’t…” Angelus growled, frustrated with his inability to voice his question. He kicked a chair. “Goddamn it!”

Willow squeaked in fear. She should be used to violent behavior, what with being the Slayer’s best friend and all, but this was Angel. Well, he looked like Angel.

Giles adjusted his glasses. He was rather surprised at Angelus’s inability to form words – he had always been rather eloquent. “Erm,” he said, not sure what to do. He didn’t want to say something wrong and end up dead.

Angelus looked over his shoulder, then back at Giles. “Look, there’s no way I can say this without sounding sappy and weak, but I’m really worried about Will.”

“What?” Xander said angrily, standing up and glaring at the vampire.

Angelus rolled his eyes. “Not Willow, you idiot. William. Spike.” Xander sat back down, still glaring.

“Oh,” Giles said, utterly shocked. He had no idea how to respond to this admission. Angelus, sensing Giles’s confusion, sighed and took a seat.

“I know you don’t have any idea about what happened, but William was really fucked up for a long time after our ‘encounter’ with Dracula,” he elaborated. “I’m worried that this current situation is going to cause some problems.”

Giles was intrigued. This clear evidence of vampiric family bonds was almost unheard of anymore. Nowadays Sires would abandon their fledglings before they even had a chance to rise. Giles knew that the older vampires had always been closer to one another, but he hadn’t ever been able to see it for himself. The fact that this was not just any vampire family, but two of the Fearsome Four, was especially interesting. No Watcher had ever been able to say what the exact relationship between Angelus and Spike had been. He was practically giddy with Watcher enthusiasm.

“What exactly did you want me to do about it?” he asked. Angelus looked into his eyes, holding his gaze. “I want you to keep him out of the way while I get my revenge,” he said, his tone so cold and murderous that Giles actually shivered. He had, of course, read several journals on Angelus’s exploits, and he did not envy Dracula one bit.

“And how exactly are we supposed to do that?” Xander asked, not bothering to hide his hostility.

Angelus laughed. “I don’t expect _you_ to do anything,” he said. “William could kill you in the blink of an eye.”

“Yeah right,” Xander retorted, ignoring Willow as she elbowed him warningly. “First of all, he’s got that nifty chip in his head. He’s neutered. Second, like I’m scared of a vamp named _William_?”

Giles could tell that Xander was pushing his luck. Of course, the low growling coming from Angelus was a big clue. “He _was_ known as William the Bloody,” Giles pointed out stiffly, hoping Xander would have the good sense to shut up. This was sort of like hoping the sun would shine 24/7, but one could dream. To everyone’s surprise, Angelus actually laughed at Giles’s comment.

“You Watchers think you know everything,” he said, unable to contain his mirth. “Do you want to know how he got that name?”

Giles and Willow nodded. They were both actually very curious about the history of these vampires.

“The same day Drusilla turned him William had been at a salon,” he said. Xander snorted. “And he calls _you_ a poof.”

Angelus growled. “It’s what we called parties back then, you fool,” he said. Xander could sense he was treading in dangerous waters and shut up. “Anyway, he used to fancy himself a poet. Well, one of the more unkind guests mocked him and called him ‘William, the bloody awful poet’. Of course, he regretted it later when William ran him through with a railroad spike.”

Willow was frowning. She didn’t understand why everyone was so mean to Spike all the time. Sure, he was vampire and didn’t have a soul, but it was obvious how sensitive he was. She had read that vampires often retained traits from when they were human, and Spike had obviously just kept more than most.

“That’s awful,” she said. “I’m sure his poems weren’t that bad.”

Angelus’s amused smile was gone. “I’ll agree with you on that. It was right after that when he ran across Dru.”

“Speaking of Spike,” Giles said. “Weren’t he and Buffy right behind you?”

***

Buffy rolled her eyes at Angelus’s theatrics, but followed him anyway. She had gone perhaps ten feet when she realized that Spike wasn’t behind her.

“Spike, are you coming?” she asked. He was still at the rail, looking out over the ocean. She heard him sigh.

“I just need a minute, Slayer,” he said. “Haven’t been alone since the great poof came galloping into Sunnydale.”

_With all this drama you’d think we were a bunch of hormonal middle-aged women,_ Buffy thought. She was experiencing a foreign feeling – pity for Spike.

She joined him at the rail. “Yeah, I bet you weren’t expecting Angelus to make a guest appearance.”

Spike laughed, but it had no amusement in it. “Oddly enough, I was not very surprised by that,” he said. “You may not have noticed his strange behavior earlier but I did.”

Buffy called herself all kinds of idiot. How had Spike been able to tell there was something different about Angel but she hadn’t? She supposed he had spent centuries more with him than she had, but it still made her feel inept.

“Then what’s bothering you?” she asked. “Aren’t you happy that he’s back?” Buffy couldn’t stop herself from sounding bitter. The year Angelus had been in Sunnydale was the worst year of her life.

“I’m not sure you’re the person I should talk to about this, luv,” Spike said, glancing over at her. She noticed that his eyes were slightly red. She hadn’t even known that he was capable of crying – Spike was always so tough.  
“Who else would you talk to?” she pointed out. Spike shrugged. “Well, don’t forget that you asked,” he warned.

“Just tell me,” Buffy said, getting impatient with him. Here she was trying to be nice for once, and he was being all stupid and tight-lipped. Usually she had to hit him just to get him to shut up.

“It’s just, I’ve spent so long trying to forget. I knew that I could never have what I wanted, so I went off and kept myself occupied for more than a century. Then, that year I came to Sunnydale, I thought there was a chance. But nothing had changed. Then he was back, but he wasn’t really. It wasn’t the same. That’s the real reason I helped you. I would rather be hated by broody soul-boy than be with that imitation of my grandsire. So I pretended like I didn’t care. And now he’s back, really back, but I know it won’t last. Either Red will manage another spell or he’ll get tired of me and leave again. And to top it all off is this shit with that wanker Dracula. I’m just-” Spike broke off with a little sob, turning his back on Buffy.

She was in shock. At first she’d had no idea what the hell he was talking about, but she put it together rather quickly. She wasn’t sure what shocked her more- the fact that Spike apparently had feelings for Angelus and the possibility that it wasn’t one-sided, or that Spike was now crying in earnest. Buffy had no idea what to do or say. In fact, she wasn’t sure that _she _didn’t need comforting after this revelation.

“I’m such a bloody poof,” Spike growled in frustration. He couldn’t believe he had told the Slayer his biggest secret. He must really have needed to tell someone. He chanced a glance at Buffy and saw her blank stare.

“I guess I lost all chance of retaining my rep as a big bad,” he said, hoping to break the awkward silence that had settled over them.

Buffy smiled slightly, knowing what he was trying to do. “Sorry, but you sort of lost that when you couldn’t attack anyone without screaming in agony.”

Spike chuckled. “Right, should’ve known. Well, we better go. There’ll be hell to pay if he notices I didn’t follow…” Spike trailed off at Buffy’s curious expression.

“Why did you let him take control so suddenly?” she asked. “I mean, last time you argued with him constantly.” Spike sighed. There was no easy way to explain it to a human.

“Well. You try disobeying Angelus and see how that goes for you,” he said. At her less than amused glare, he elaborated. “I told you, that last time wasn’t really Angelus. The bastard was insane from having been trapped for so long. He’s my grandsire, we’re family. Dru was basically useless, the poor bint, so Angelus took me under his wing early on.”

Buffy still looked uncomprehending. “It’s hard to explain, luv,” Spike said.

She shook her head. “Never mind, maybe I don’t want to know.” She shuddered at the thought of what exactly Spike said when he meant Angelus took him ‘under his wing’. “Let’s just go to the others so we can get this over with and maybe sleep for a while.”

Spike nodded in agreement and the two finally followed Angelus back to their table.

***

“Worried?” Angelus asked, grinning. He knew that the Slayer and her posse must be aware of the fact that he and William would need to feed soon.

“As a matter of fact, I am,” Giles said. Angelus rolled his eyes.

“Don’t worry, they’re coming,” he said. No sooner had the words left his mouth than Spike and Buffy were approaching the table.

“What took you, Buffy?” Willow asked anxiously. Buffy glanced at Spike. “We were held up by a crewman,” she said. Angelus narrowed his eyes at the two. There was something they weren’t saying.

“What did he want?” Giles asked.

Buffy shrugged. “He just wanted to know if we were enjoying our stay, stuff like that.”

Spike was silent as he moved to stand behind Angelus’s chair. An uncomfortable silence fell over them. Angelus was observing Spike. He knew his childe and the Slayer were hiding something, and his William was way too quiet. He wasn’t even smoking, which was unusual.

The silence was interrupted by a high-pitched trilling noise.

“What the hell is that?” Angelus snapped. Everyone looked around, trying to find the source of the noise. Willow giggled and then clapped her hands over her mouth in horror. Everyone stared at her. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s just, Angelus has a cell phone.”

“Huh?” Angelus said. A cell phone? It finally dawned on him. “Shit,” he said, digging through his pockets for the phone. He managed to answer it right on the last ring.

“What?” he said.

“Geez, hello to you too, boss,” said Cordelia’s voice.

“Put it on speaker,” Buffy whispered. Angelus rolled his eyes but complied. “What do you want Cordelia?” he said with an annoyed sigh. The last thing he wanted was to talk to Queen C.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she said sarcastically. “I just wanted to know where my boss got to. You know, the one who was supposed to be back in L.A. two days ago?”

“It’s good to know some things don’t change,” Xander said, glad that he no longer lived in the same city as Cordelia.

“Was that Xander Harris?” Cordelia asked, distaste evident in her tone. Angelus smirked. “You’re on speaker, Cordy,” he told her.

“O-kay, who else is there?” she said, annoyed at Angel. He knew how she felt about the gang from Sunnydale.

“Spike, Buff, Rupes, Willow and Harris,” he said. Cordelia was silent on the other end. The group on the boat could hear a rustling nose, and then Wesley picked up the phone.

“Angel, are you all right?” he asked. Angel had been acting strangely before he left for Sunnydale, and Wesley was rather worried.

“I’m perfectly fine, Wes,” Angelus said, already tired of this conversation. “Is there any particular reason Cordelia called, other than to bitch at me?”

They could hear Cordelia in the background. “See, I told you!” she said in a loud whisper.

“Angel, something is obviously wrong. We need to talk. Where are you? You told us you’d be back yesterday at the latest.” Wesley sounded resigned to dealing with Angel in this weird mood.

“Yeah, whatever,” Angelus said. “Talk to Giles.” He tossed the phone at the Watcher and walked over to the rail. Giles caught it awkwardly.

“Er, hello Wesley,” Giles said, glaring at Angelus’s back.

“What’s going on, Giles?” Wesley asked. He hoped his fellow ex-Watcher would give him a straight answer. Giles sighed heavily, and Wesley felt his stomach clench.

“We are currently on a boat to Transylvania,” Giles said. “And I’m afraid that Angel is no longer with us.”

“Bloody hell,” Wesley muttered. “But everyone’s all right?”

“Yes, for now,” Giles said. “He and Buffy have agreed to a truce. We are on our way to help him and Spike defeat Dracula.”

“Dracula? You mean _the_ Dracula?” Wesley asked, a small amount of awe in his voice.

“Yes. We’re actually learning a great deal about Angelus and Spike,” Giles told him. “I’m sure the Council would love to know some of the things I’ve learned.” There was no small amount of bitterness in Giles’ voice.

Wesley scoffed. “No doubt. What exactly has he told you?”

“Angelus informed us that Dracula was in fact his first Childe,” Giles said, keeping his voice low. Angelus was still looking out over the ocean, and Giles didn’t want to get him involved in the conversation.

“Oh my,” Wesley said. “How did no one realize?”

“I have no idea, but apparently Dracula did something rather horrible to Spike, which is why we’re on our way to Transylvania. Angelus feels the need to retaliate.”

“When did this happen? Was it during Dracula’s stay in Sunnydale?” Wesley asked. Giles cleared his throat. “Er, no. It was actually around 1886.”

“I see,” Wesley said, in what Cordelia called his “Watchery-Reasearch Voice”. “Well, I do hope you have a plan of action.” 

“Yes, we-” Giles cut off when he noticed that Angelus was standing in front of him. “Wes, I need you to do some research for me,” Angelus said.

Wesley gave a little snort. “The only research I will be doing is on restoration spells.”

Angelus rolled his eyes. _Soul-boy hired some grade-A losers_, he thought. “Wes, it’s important. I think I know what Wolfram and Hart brought back in that box, and I need you to look into it.”

“Oh,” Wesley said. “Well, that actually does sound important. What do you think they brought back?”

Giles wondered what they were talking about. The communication between L.A. and Sunnydale was obviously lacking. Angelus looked rather grim.

“I think they resurrected Darla,” he said. Spike’s head shot up. “What?” he said.

Angelus nodded. “Those dreams I’ve been having. After I woke up I could always still smell her, which should be impossible since she’s dead.”

“I think I would have noticed if Darla was in my crypt,” Spike said. He and Darla had never gotten along very well, and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t happy when he found out Angel had staked her.

“I think that’s where Wolfram and Hart comes in,” Wesley said. He had to admit, it would explain Angel’s behavior of late. “I’ll look into it.”

“Thanks Wes,” Angelus said.

“It’s not for you,” Wesley snapped. Angelus chuckled. “You guys just never understood,” he said. He was talking to Wes, but he looked at everybody around the table. “Angel and I are the same person. He’s just me with a conscience.”

“You’re wrong,” Buffy said, finally joining the conversation. “You two are totally different.”

“You just keep telling yourself that, sweetheart,” Angelus said condescendingly.

“Well, I had better be going,” Wesley said. “Thank you for the information, Giles.”

“Yes, you’re welcome,” Giles said, hanging up the phone and handing it to Angelus. “Why don’t you finish your story so we can be done with this,” he said.

“Yeah, I’m bloody tired of dragging this on,” Spike said, rather sick of everyone at the moment. Angelus eyed Spike with a look of concern. “Maybe we should wait,” he said.

“Are you kidding? This has gone on long enough. I just want to get on with it,” Spike said, momentarily forgetting his resignation to obey Angelus.

Buffy glanced at Spike, really not that surprised that he had run off at the mouth. Spike just didn’t know how to keep it shut. She was anxious at how Angelus would react, though. His violence toward the blonde vampire hadn’t gone unnoticed. She thought back to the conversation they had just had on deck and wondered why Spike would be willing to put up with the domineering older vampire.

Angelus stared at Spike for a few seconds, trying to decide what would be best for his Childe. In the end he figured that getting it over with would be best, so that they could go back to their room and leave the Slayer and her loser friends behind. Angelus was really getting sick of them, and he wasn’t sure he even wanted to let them help once they reached Transylvania.

“Fine. Do you want to finish it or shall I?” Angelus said. Spike blinked. He had expected Angelus to get angry at him for speaking out, but he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Spike swallowed. He wasn’t sure that he could actually say what had happened aloud. “You,” he said, hating the way his voiced cracked. Angelus just nodded. He didn’t mock Spike for being weak like he expected.

“We were chained up in the dungeon, waiting for someone to come down,” Angelus began.

**1886**

They had been there for about an hour when a vamp descended the stairs, a heavy wooden box balanced in his arms.

“Angelus…” Spike said, a hint of fear in his voice. Even though he was young for a vampire, he knew what that box meant – torture. He hadn’t really experienced it before, but he’d watched Angelus in action – and been on the receiving end of some of that action.

Angelus sighed as he saw the vampire carrying the box. He was all for torture, just not his own, and he really didn’t want William to have to go through it. The only consolation he had was that he knew this guy couldn’t be as good as he was. “Don’t worry, William,” he said consolingly. “It’ll be over quick…hopefully.” Angelus was already thinking of ways he might be able to escape and free William. He was rather worried about the girls – he didn’t know where they had been taken. Darla could take care of herself, but Drusilla was practically a child. Darla might be in trouble if she had to worry about taking care of the insane seer as well as herself.

The vampire set the box down on a table and began removing the tools. Angelus recognized all of them, and knew intimately what each was for. He was a master artist at using them. He hoped this vamp was weak-minded; Angelus wanted to use some mind games to distract the other vampire so he could break free and get them out of there.

“I see Dracula can’t be bothered to do it himself,” Angelus said, taking on a casual tone. “Either that, or he’s a bloody coward.” The vampire didn’t respond. _Damn_, Angelus thought. He wasn’t about to give up, though. Everyone had a breaking point.

He glanced over at Spike. The younger vampire’s eyes were following their would-be torturer’s every move as he arranged the items. Angelus hoped he could distract them both.

“Look, I like torture as much as the next vampire, but maybe this time we could skip it,” he said. The vampire glanced at him, but continued his meticulous organization. Angelus let out a long-suffering sigh. “If you must, could you at least take some pointers?”

The vampire chuckled. “You will not intimidate me,” he said. “Besides, I’m just the backup.”

This intrigued Angelus. “So you’re _not_ going to torture us?” If that wasn’t Dracula’s plan, then what was?

“Angelus,” Spike said, finally coming out of his silence. “Don’t encourage him.”

Angelus would have shrugged if he weren’t chained to the wall. “He’s going to do what he’s going to do, boy, and nothing I say will change that.”

Spike’s mouth fell open. “Are you saying that you’re not even going to fight?”

Angelus laughed. “What happened to your ‘don’t encourage him’ attitude, William? Don’t worry so much.”

Spike scowled, and was just about to come up with a sarcastic retort when Dracula himself descended the steps into the dungeon.

“You are comfortable, I hope?” he asked, sounding like he was talking to a couple of guests. He didn’t wait for a reply. “Let us begin.”

***

Angelus stopped talking and a silence fell over the table. As he was telling the story, the memories sharpened in his mind. It was unpleasant for him, but nothing compared to what it was like for Spike. Angelus decided then that he wouldn’t tell the Slayer and her friends exactly what had happened. All they needed to know was that it was bad and Dracula had to pay. He didn’t want Spike to have to hear it again.

“Well?” Xander asked impatiently. Even he was getting caught up in the story. “What happened next?”

Angelus sneered. “It’s not some soap opera, boy,” he said. Buffy rolled her eyes at their fighting. “You don’t have to jump him for asking a question,” she said, giving Angelus a stern look. “Why did you stop?”

“All you need to know is that something terrible happened, we found the girls and then left Transylvania,” Angelus said, his tone leaving no room for argument. It didn’t stop Xander from trying, though.

“What, that’s it?” he exclaimed. “After all of that build-up you’re not going to tell us?” The others were trying to signal him with their eyes to shut up, but Xander wasn’t paying attention. They feared for Xander’s life as Angelus broke into a grin. Xander finally realized that he was digging a hole and shut his mouth, waiting to see what Angelus was going to do to him.

“That is exactly what I’m telling you, Harris,” he said. “Come on, Spike. It’s almost dawn.” Without another word, Angelus headed toward the cabins.

Spike raised an eyebrow and smirked at the Scoobies. “Lucky bastards,” he said, following his Sire to their room. As soon as the vampire was out of sight, Giles and Buffy turned on Xander. “What were you thinking!” she shouted. “God, Xander. Do you want him to eat you?’

Xander had the grace to look guilty. “Buffy is quite right, Xander. Learn to keep your mouth shut,” Giles scolded. He was very glad that Angelus had let it go, but also very curious as to why. It was very unlike the vampire to avoid violence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! This is all I have written so far, so I have no idea when more will be coming. I wrote most of this several years ago. The Angel crew being on the cover of EW reminded me that I wanted to post this. Side note, can you believe Angel premiered 20 years ago?!?


End file.
